Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935

Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935
Art Museum of Southeast Texas
September 27, 2013 – January 5, 2014

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) presents Texas Impressionism: Branding with Brushstroke and Color, 1885-1935, a vibrant group exhibition organized by the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and on view Sept. 27, 2013 through Jan. 5, 2014 showcasing Texas artists who contributed to American Impressionism.

An opening reception for the exhibition will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, September 26 at AMSET where Michael R. Grauer, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs/Curator of Art at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, will participate in a gallery talk. Grauer will discuss what characteristics distinguish Texas Impressionist painting from other artwork from the same period emphasizing the historical context of the paintings and key artists featured in the exhibition. At the end of his talk, there will be a question and answer period.

True Impressionist paintings use pure prismatic colors (including pastel colors); short, active brushstrokes; are done or started en plein air; depict scenes of casual, everyday life; use plunging perspectives, cropped forms, and asymmetrical juxtapositions of crowded forms and emptiness inspired and adapted from photography and Asian art. This exhibition is comprised of more than 100 paintings created by Texas artists — regardless of locale or subject — branded with their own unique brushstroke and color.

The artists whose work will be featured include: Julian Onderdonk, Robert Onderdonk, Jose Arpa, Edward G. Eisenlohr, Ella Koepke Mewhinney, Seymour Thomas, Lucien Abrams, E. Richardson Cherry, Frank Reaugh and many others.